My Favorite Ottawa Restaurants 2016

Here are some of my favorite restaurants (* top picks!) to consider during your stay in Ottawa:

Byward Market

• *La Bottega - 64 George - $ - take out sandwiches and eat in pizza & paninis - hidden gem!
• *Benny's Bistro - 119 Murray - SS - my favorite breakfast brunch spot, French bakery
• *Khao Thai - 103 Murray - $$ - modern Thai food, lovely ambience
• *Kothu Rotti - 408 Dalhousie - $ - Sri Lankan take out - unbelievable flavours - excellent value.
• *Sidedoor - 18 York - $$$ - delicious, finely crafted asian fusion small plates
• Das Lokal - 190 Dalhousie - $$$ - contemporary European cuisine - free parking!
• Chez Lucien - 137 Murray - $$ - cozy bistro with great ambience, good burgers
• Ahora - 307 Dalhousie - $$ - casual Mexican restaurant - downstairs
• Social - 537 Sussex - $$$ upscale/elegant cuisine and ambience
• Metropolitain - 700 Sussex - $$ - French bistro - lots of space - great frites
• Play Food Wine  - 1 York St - $$$ - small plates from one of Ottawa's premiere restaurateurs
• Beavertails - William @ George - $ - quintessential Ottawa treat - sugary or savory pastry 
• Cacao 70 - 51 William - $$ - specializes in decadent choccolate dishes but also serves savoury
• Byward Market Square - $ - in the heart of the Byward market, a mix of small restaurants, bakeries for casual day time dining and touristy shopping opps

A bit of a walk from the Market: - in Sandy Hill

• *Shawarma Palace - 464 Rideau - $ - best shawarma in town - try the chicken shawarma platter!
• *Habesha - 574 Rideau - $ - Homey Ethiopean restaurant - a real gem.

Elgin Street

• *The Scone Witch - 150 Elgin - $$ - locally famous scones served alone or as sandwiches
• *El Camino - 380 Elgin - $$$ - fusion taco / small plates - awesome cocktails and ambience - dark side
• *The Manx Pub - 370 Elgin - $$ - cozy pub with good value, inspired menu
• Datsun - 380 Elgin - $$$ - asian fusion small plates - sister resto to El Camino - light side

Is spring on its way?!?! A visit to Café Sfouf & la Maison du rôti

Is it spring or have we passed on to winter already?!?   Off to Montreal for brunch - can't believe it is mid-March and the snow continues to fall....

We find a little ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary, cold, damp, slushy day... Cafe Sfouf at 1250 Ontario Est.  Super cozy, family and student friendly - our charming hostess seemed to know everyone.  A great place to spend the morning or afternoon tucked in away from the cold.  They have partnered with vendors at the nearby Marché St. Jacques - can only imagine the flavours to come this summer!  It must be coming...

Although the regular menu of tartines and soups looked good, we had to go with the lebanese breakfast.  

Ridiculously thick labneh dusted with zaatar (an herb mix including sesame seeds, oregano, sumac, and mint) with a big glug of olive oil, garlicky olive oil laced chick peas, cukes, tomatoes, radishes and olives, a spinach, sumac and onion stuffed bread, with freshly toasted pita.  Dessert was meghle, a lebanese spiced rice pudding with strong cinnamon flavour, topped with coconut, almonds, and pistachios.  Top that off with an amazing turkish or allongé coffee and the signature "sfouf" - a golden tumeric semolina cake topped with a pine nut, served with each hot beverage.

Before leaving town, we had to make a stop at La Maison du Rôti, 1969 avenue Mont-Royal Est.  This gourmand destination is a must-visit on any trip to Montreal, but make sure you have a cooler if it isn't a frigid late winter day!  It will get warm, one day, right?

 The store is full of beautifully cut and displayed meats, poultry, and cheeses, as well as gourmet foods from a myriad of cultures.  They also provide hot prepared foods as well as fresh and frozen meals that would wow any foodie.  There is usually a vendor providing samples - today was no exception - we sampled Feelo, a delightfully complex, chartreuse-colored olive oil from Greece.  A taste of summer, fruity with a bitter edge - dreams of summer tomatoes sprinkled with this and sea salt...

 We came specifically to pick up their beautifully prepared duck confit - at $29.95/kg, an amazing deal.

 We picked up their homemade heavenly paté and terrine, some salty gorgonzola, and two small quiches - the Forestière with wild mushrooms and artichokes, and the Poireaux et escargots - leeks and snails.

It is probably a good thing that we do not live in Montréal...

Hoping that Café Sfouf will have an Urbanspoon presence soon!

 

Kazu Izakaya - April 2012

Oh my, how time does fly.  These are photos from about a year ago from our first visit to Kazu, hot then, still hot now.   

 An izakaya is a traditional Japanese restaurant that serves small plates and alcohol, and often has communal seating so get ready to get cozy!  Kind of a Japanese tapas restaurant.  

I think this was the sashimi salad

Grilled salmon belly.... mmmmm....

Gyoza!

48-hour pork!

 

Long wait to get in, but worth it.  Had the noisy, crowded atmosphere down, yummy food, cold beer...  We were twice (and for some of us 3 times!) the age of most of the clientele, but that didn't dampen our enjoyment.  Highly recommended and dying to try their ramen.

"We want to eat Canada food...."

During a recent visit to Ottawa, my Japanese relatives asked to eat "Canadian" food....  other than maple syrup, of course.   Coming from a land of a singular, supremely awe-inspiring cuisine, it was interesting trying to explain to them what Canadian food was, having already eaten italian, chinese, korean, japanese, lebanese, greek, german, british, etc. etc. etc. 

However, they had to try poutine, especially being just next door to Quebec!  We went to my favorite spot, Jack's, a chip wagon on the south side of Rideau Street between Friel and Chapel.  The current owner has improved on Jack's gravy, which was hard to believe, but true (he tells me it is now vegetarian!)!  A very generous medium of his excellent fries, topped with squeaky cheese curds and that awesome gravy kept the three of us happy for the rest of the day (okay, they both had to sample a pogo too!).

Iconic NOLA eats!

I'm not sure why I didn't realize the level to which New Orleans is a foodie destination...  but as I did my research in advance of our trip, I couldn't help but salivate... and when we got there, I suffered fraom the anxiety of having to chose where to eat on our ever decreasing number of meals before our departure - the pressure!

A few iconic eats in NOLA:

(1) The po'boy: not just a submarine or hero, but THE sandwich of Louisiana.  You can get them from fine restaurants to corner stores to gas stations.  Thought to originate in the 1920's when French bread was filled with potatoes and gravy to feed striking workers... I'd heard a lot about Johnny's Po-boy Restaurant in the French Quarter, so we got there for an early lunch.

 Nothing like ordering in a local restaurant for the first time - it was jam packed, and I had to ask what "all dressed" meant, and missed my number being called (cuz I didn't expect it to be made so quickly!).





 We stuck with the classic fried shrimp po-boy (undressed - shredded iceberg, tomatoes, pickles and a little mayo on the side) - I usually deprive myself of it, but freshly-fried, tongue-burning food is mana from heaven... at least at the first moment the flavours burst on your tongue, the crunch of crispy, airy batter, hints of cayenne blended with a shmear of mayo... mmmm! 

We did wonder about the bread though - crispy on the outside, but processed bland air dough in the middle...  Probably the only disappointment of the entire trip.  Although we heard later of the "bread as vehicle" theory around po'boy bread...

(2) Beignets and chicory cafe au lait:  The iconic spot is Cafe du Monde (first opened in 1862) on Decatur Street past Jackson Square.  A super touristy place which I considered waiting in line for until I realized that they were filming Emeril Lagasse inside.... next time!

We came across Cafe Beignet, a little hole in the wall restaurant with a shaded terrasse that was pumping out these hot square doughnuts with a snowstorm of icing sugar on top.   Maybe that layer of sugar is to keep from burning your upper lip, as you've got to inhale them while they are still warm... and remember NOT to wear black if you are going to indulge!

(3) Fried Chicken:  Part of the Creole/soul food experience, which you can get even in a cafe called "Fiorella's" (which I found out later is one of the best places to get fried chicken in town)!  And on St. Paddy's Day, I had to indulge in their special - a $2 green apple martini - before lunch!

 This was a dangerous "beginning of trip" experience.  The still sizzling, lightly coated skin breaking like glass under my teeth, flavour burst of fat and spices as I sunk into the juiciest chicken I may ever have experienced - the textures and tastes all blending into an eye-rolling mouthful...  Whoa!  Made me want to eat more and more, and start a pilgrimage to find the holy grail of fried chicken....  and to never ever eat KFC again!  Note the red beans and smoked sausage with rice side... nice!

(4) The Muffletta:  But that will have to be a separate post....



Enlightenment & noodles....

I haven't been to Toronto in 10 years - what made me go?  Well, the Dalai Lama doesn't stop by every day, so we went to visit him (along with over 17,000 other of his close friends) at the Rogers Centre - a wonderful afternoon chat.

Yes, the CN Tower is still there, but we found some other interesting places to visit.

But what I was really in search of was a real bowl of Japanese ramen - those lovely chewy noodles so poorly represented by Cup-Noodle and the plethora of fried/dried/compressed instant noodles you can find in any grocery store now...

Chowhounds led us to Kenzo Ramen, on Dundas Street West, tucked away along a nondescript streetscape, but with a red ramen sign (in Japanese of course!) luring us in...

Great menu - drool inducing photos - I was ready...

We ordered the King of the Kings ramen, which was spicier than I thought - with 5 toppings (wakame (seaweed), soft boiled egg, fish roll, green onions, and pork).

As it was getting really chilly, and we were coming down from our Dalai Lama high, AND I was starving - the warm spicy broth and chewy noodles filled me with joy - slurp slurp!

Donald ordered yakisoba - stir fried noodles and veggies in a sweet/savoury sauce - House-of Parliament-ish.  I think they use tonkatsu sauce...

He also insisted we try the Tako yaki - or octopus balls!  A chunk of octopus cooked into a pancake globe, topped with more tonkatsu sauce and bonito flakes...  I've never been much of a fan, and this is always better eaten from a street stall in Japan on a chilly day - but it did bring back memories!  Note the nice disposable wooden boat it is served in.

Great atmosphere - always a good sign when an Asian restaurant actually has asian clientele!

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal, with a beer - warmed us to the core, and brought us to a more contented state - enlightenment NOW!  

Restaurants in Ottawa's Byward Market

I often get asked for restaurant recommendations for the Byward Market in Ottawa. It's a very special part of Ottawa, and perhaps that's its downfall - as in many touristy areas, there are always loads of mediocre restaurants that live off the tourists that only come to Ottawa once in their lifetime...

The list was made for a meeting, so the choices are quite varied, but we avoided smaller places that were on the outskirts of the market (see some additions at the bottom). These lists are in no particular order.

Decent affordable restaurants :

• Haveli’s: indian $$
• Khao Thai: $$
• Vittoria Trattoria: italian $$$
• Metropolitan: french $$ - $$$
• Milestones: roadhouse $$
• Lapointe’s Seafood $$

Good but expensive ($$$ - $$$$):

• Murray St Bistro: homemade charcuterie a speciality - won a spot on the 2009 best new restaurant list in En Route magazine
• Navarra: spanish nouvelle cuisine
• Domus Café: high end canadian regional cuisine
• Sweet Grass Aboriginal Bistro
• Play Food & Wine: Beckta's resto in the market, but can be inconsistent
• Kinki: fusion sushi

Small venues:

• La Botegga: my all time fav - lunch counter is a hidden gem
• Ahora: mexican fast food
• Benny’s Bistro: cute little bistro with consistently interesting dishes - great brunch

My favs are underlined. Two favorites that are missing are:

• Casa do Churrasco: portuguese food - very home-y, with parking!
• Chez Lucien: A great little pub - great value, but difficult to get into.

"Our" lunch place.... La Bottega Nicastro

I've been going to La Bottega Nicastro, on George Street in the Byward Market, since 1999, and probably once a month for the past 6 years... Nestled in the back of a bustling Italian fine food store, it's one of the best kept secrets in Ottawa.

The concept? Take fabulous fresh ingredients from the in store deli (they also make the best takeout sandwiches in the Market as well), and serve them up a nice menu of paninis and pizzas made right in front of you if you sit at the bar.....

There are also usually a soup of the day, and pizza and pasta specials. Although they serve a few stand alone salads - go for the panini & pizza, which have a very generous salad included!

Two of our favs - Calabria Mia - spicy calabrese salami with goat cheese, roasted red peppers and rosemary and ....

... the Angelica pizza with proscuitto, mushrooms, onions, mozzarella cheese, and drizzled with spicy olive oil.

A bottle of Farnese Sangiovese goes down nicely - very affordable.

Part of the fun is the bustling store, and realizing that many people in the store don't even realize what's in the back!

Finish of your meal with a real italian latte or cappucino - try the canoli and other pastries from Montreal each Saturday morning....

Lunch is served Monday to Saturday 1130 to 3pm. You often have to wait for a table, but it's worth it.... Thanks to Zorica and Carmella (l & r) for all their hospitality!